MacGregor's buzzer beater lifts Spaulding past Dover

DOVER — Nick MacGregor has a knack for last-second shots to win games. And the Spaulding High School boys basketball team has a knack for thrilling, down-to-the-wire victories at Dover.

MacGregor's 12-foot jumper at the buzzer lifted Spaulding to a 60-59 win over its Division I rival on Thursday night at Ollie Adams Gym, adding another chapter to a rivalry that has seen its fair share of heart-stopping finishes in recent months.

“It didn't work exactly the way we planned, but none of our game-winning shots ever have,” MacGregor said. “I honestly can't even explain how I feel. It's just so surreal. It's always tough coming in here. Their crowd is nuts and their defense is insane. I just can't believe it.”

The win came less than 24 hours after the Spaulding hockey team beat Dover 3-2 in overtime, and it was just over a year after P.J. Juneau hit a last-second shot to give Spaulding basketball a 46-45 win on the same court. The previous fall, the Green Wave football team eliminated the Red Raiders from the Division II football semifinals on a field goal as time expired.

“It's always a great game when we play Dover,” Spaulding coach Tim Cronin said. “It doesn't matter what the records are. I know everybody says that all the time, but it's true with this. It's a great rivalry.”

With Spaulding trailing by a point — thanks to a pair of free throws by Dover's Billy Carroll moments earlier — and 5.9 seconds remaining, Seth Fogg inbounded the ball to MacGregor, who dribbled to the right of the free-throw line, fell back and launched his shot which swished through the net for the win, a fitting end to a contest that was tied eight times and featured 15 lead changes.

“What a way to end that,” Fogg said. “I was thinking it better go in. I didn't want to lose this game my senior year. But I knew it was going in. Nick's made it before, and I knew it was going in.”

Indeed, MacGregor has made a name for himself winning basketball games with buzzer-beating heroics. Three nights earlier, MacGregor hit a game-winning 3-pointer as time expired to beat Exeter 43-40.

“He wants the ball at the end of the game,” Cronin said. “He's always had that confidence in his game. He's a confident player and he wants to make things happen. He'll do whatever it takes.”

Spaulding improved to 10-1 on the season while Dover fell to 6-4. Both teams are expected to be contenders in the postseason. The Green Wave have yet to suffer a double-digit loss.

“We were in the right defense, we did everything right, we just let our guard down for one second,” Dover coach Mike Romps said. “It's a great rivalry. (That's) what it comes down to. There were two or three times when we could have been run out of the gym, and our kids dug in and made great shots.”

MacGregor's shot to win it was the biggest highlight in a game full of them, and it wasn't even the only buzzer-beating shot of the night. Fogg hit a 3-pointer to end the third quarter that broke a 43-43 tie and ended a frame that saw the two teams combine for nine 3s.

Spaulding's Dominic Paradis torched the Green Wave for 31 points, including 13 in the third period, during which he hit three 3-pointers.

A transition bucket by Spaulding's Mike Bellio midway through the second quarter gave the Red Raiders a 20-13 lead, the largest by either team all night. Dover responded with a 12-0 run, which included a baseline 3-pointer by Carter Moore and 4-for-4 free-throw shooting by Josh Cote. MacGregor hit a 3-pointer to stop the bleeding and Paradis drove to the hoop for a layup to tie the game at 25, which is where it stood at halftime. Cote led Dover with 26 points.

The teams played even to open the second half, and a 3-pointer by Cote with 3:42 left in the third gave the Green Wave its first lead of the frame, 37-36. Cote put Dover up by 3 with his third trey of the quarter to make it 43-40 with just under two minutes to go.

The final stanza was tied four times. Dover trailed 58-57 when Carroll was fouled driving to the hoop — his shot hung on the rim for a tantalizing second before falling without going in — but missed both free throws with 19.1 seconds to go. On the other end of the floor, Spaulding's Charlie Nevejans missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Carroll got a chance at redemption when he was fouled with 9.1 seconds to go and hit both shots.

That set the stage for the game-ending drama. Fogg dribbled hard to half court and Spaulding called successive timeouts before MacGregor made it a night to remember for the Red Raiders.

Both teams return to action on Tuesday. Dover is at Keene while Spaulding hosts Manchester Central.